Kaladi's 2.0 Keeps it Real With Good Food and Casual Family Atmosphere

Jaysen Jones is the "owner, operator, head chef, dish washer, server, advertising and promotions manager and everything else" of .

He took over the restaurant that’s been in town for five years last December and takes immense pride in the food he serves.

"I literally live and breathe this place," he said. "If I get a complaint about the food it bothers me for a week."

The food, and atmosphere, he said are all "casual." Jones said he focuses on keeping a "tongue-in-cheek" feel to the place.

"Our website, Facebook page, menu and décor are all laid back," he said. "We don’t take ourselves too seriously here. We take our jobs and the food serious, but we’re not reinventing the wheel here. We’re going to cook great food for a good price, and give people what they want to eat."

That way, the focus stays on the food.

"I push people to try the things that you can’t get anywhere but here," he said including the chicken carbonara sandwich and the Italian Panini.

He also takes cues from former popular daily specials and adds them to the menu.

"It’s want people like, so we keep it around," he said.

The Chicago-style hot dogs, frisco burger and the black bean chipotle burger are popular items.

Though there are some items that stick around, Jones said he thinks it’s important to turn over the menu fairly often.

"It’s been the same since I took over in December. Nine months is far too long to have it not change in my mind, so we’ll be switching things up soon," he said.

He takes pride in the food he serves there.

He’s been with Kaladi’s ever since he started in the kitchen one month after it opened. Now it’s to the point where "if we’re open and serving food I’m touching everything that gets served," he said. "I think of this as culinary art.

"If I make something and it’s not just right, I would rather have the customer wait 10 minutes and get a great meal than rush it out anyway and serve something that’s not good," he said.

Customer satisfaction is a big deal, he said, because the base in Hudson is a great one.

"People here like to keep things local, that’s great for the vitality of the restaurant diversity in town," he said. "Many people live and work here and seem to enjoy keeping things local."

Jones also makes his restaurant a family affair. His wife Leah, and children Jessee, 15, and Isaac, 13, help run the place. He's very proud of the fact that the eatery doesn't serve alcohol. In fact, he claims it's the only non-chain restaurant in town that doesn't serve alcohol.

If Jones could change one thing about Kaladi's it would be its location in on Heiser Street in the St. Croix Business Park.

"A lot of people hear about us,  but they don't know where we're at," he said.